Officials continue to tally August red-light violations

VISTA -- The number of motorists running red lights is piling
up, thanks to cameras zeroed in on four of the city's busiest
intersections.

The number caught running red lights in August stood at 631 as
of Tuesday evening. By 3 p.m. Wednesday, that number had jumped to
681. The increase is because San Diego County Sheriff's Department
officials continue to review hundreds of possible violations in
order to determine just how many motorists ran red lights last
month, and then cite those drivers.

Officials still needed to review 659 possible violations for
August as of Wednesday afternoon, and it was impossible to predict
how many of those might be deemed violations, said Deputy Rick
Castro. Deputies watching the videos from the cameras look for
factors such as ensuring the light was red and determining the
driver's identity before issuing a citation so that the ticket will
stand up in court.

Assistant City Manager Rick Dudley said he expects the number of
violations to eventually decrease. And city officials have said the
devices were installed for public safety.

As with the changing numbers for August, July also saw an
increase in red-light camera violations. As of Aug. 15, deputies
had determined that 961 motorists ran red lights in the city in
July. As of Wednesday, that total had increased to 1,147 -- the
final tally.

The cameras are at the intersections of Emerald Drive and Vista
Way, Escondido and South Santa Fe avenues, Hacienda and Melrose
drives, and Santa Fe Avenue and Vista Village Drive. The devices
were installed in May and, following a grace period in June,
citations with fines began July 3.

The final August tally could end up at about 1,000, just like
July's total, deputies said. That is not surprising, they
added.

"Because the program is still relatively new, even one month is
not long enough (for motorists to stop running red lights)," Castro
said. "We might not see a decrease for three to four months.
Probably at six months, we'll see a decrease."

For July, officials from Redflex Traffic Systems, which
installed the cameras, sent 2,456 video feeds for deputies to
review. For August, company officials have sent 2,599, a number
which continues to increase as the images arrive from Redflex.
That's surprising, Dudley said, adding that he calls those figures
the "raw numbers." It's surprising because it means motorists don't
seem to be stopping at yellow despite a potentially large fine, he
said.

"It makes you think, 'Gee, I wonder if it's that (motorists)
have to start getting the citations and feeling the penalty,' " he
said.

Registered owners of vehicles caught running the red lights will
each receive citations with a $321 penalty and $20 court fee. Of
that amount, the city will pay Redflex $89 for each citation. The
state and county will receive $154, night court $1, and the rest --
$77 -- goes to Vista.

Just how much money the city stands to make from the cameras
remains to be seen. For July, the city could make as much as
$88,000 if everyone who received a citation pays it. Indeed, the
City Council felt confident enough to spend at least some of that
money, as it recently voted to use $20,744 of red-light camera
revenue to fund a crossing-guard program with the Vista Unified
School District.

"This is a one-time expenditure … because we don't know what
it's going to be over the long haul," Dudley said. "I think
everybody is surprised at how high (the number of red-light
violations) is."